Munchen Haus!

Munich is great. Oktoberfest in Munich is AMAZING!

If you are into beer, or of you are into lederhosen, or if you are into boobs, or if you are into Beer, or if you are into LOUD people, or if you are into Beer, or if you are into forming bruises and/or calluses on your hands where you hold the beer, then you might just enjoy Oktoberfest!

The first thing I consumed in Munich were gigantic raspberries that a street vendor was selling, they were only 1 Euro and were the size of my thumb. The vendor was also selling these beautiful local mushrooms. I love mushroom season. 

With all the beer I was consuming at Oktoberfest I really wasn’t feeling very hungry the first couple days. I was on a solely beer-based diet. This lasted until one morning, heading to the tents and I was craving the bratwurst- aka Oktoberfest sausage. I was expecting the sausages to be really big like the ones in grocery stores at home. But they are much skinnier so you get 2 on a bun! Amazing. The meat to bun ratio is perfect and I wanted it traditional Munchen style, so I had it with a sweet mustard. Those bad boys did not last long. You can get food in the Oktoberfest tents but its quite pricey and I was also focused on my stein, not eating.

Pork Knuckle

The Saturday morning of Oktoberfest was insane, it was 10am and the group of us could not find a seat in any tent. So we left the fair grounds and went to Augustiner Brau. If you ever go to Munich, despite the time of year, I suggest this place for great beer and some traditional fare with great prices. Te place was packed, with mostly locals- which is always a good sign when looking for some good, local food. I saw the spatzle on my way in and I knew I had to have it. So the dish I ordered was served in the pan and it was 2 pork chops with acreamy mushroom sauce and cheesy spatzle topped with crispy onions. The portions were huge! I can put away a lot of food and I couldn’t even eat half, but I wanted it, so bad. The spatzle was very tasty and the onions were perfectly crisp, they had been dredged in seasoned flour and fried, it added perfect texture to the spatzle. The pork chops were perfectly cooked, topped with a touch of parsley andthe sauce was so flavourful with a demi-glace and a touch of cream and mushrooms. It was rich, but it was very tasty.

Other things I tasted at Augustiner Brau:

Cheesy Spatzle and Pork Chops

-          Pork Knuckle- It has clearly been cooked for a long time, either braised (in liquid) or just dry roasted. Slow and low was the key for this gem. The skin was wonderfully crisp and the pork fat had perfectly basted the tender, juicy meat. This was served with a traditional potato dumpling with a rich sauce/demi-glace. The dumpling looks like a perfectly round peeled potato but its very soft and moist, almost a soggy-like bread, it was very heavy and somewhat bland. An afterthought compared to this fabulous pork knuckle.

-          Tasting plate made up of: Grilled meatball- pork, perfectly seasoned, grilled, enough said- 2 thumbs up. Grilled ravioli- I got really excited for this one, it was good, but slightly disappointing. I’m not sure the name but it was a ball of stuffing/dressing, bread, pork, herbs, seasoning, it was great as well. And all of this plus a pork chop was served in the pan with the same creamy mushroom sauce.

Tasting plate

-          Weiner schnitzel- Perfection. Must be pan friend in butter. I love how it was served, I think there were 3, maybe only 2 huge pieces on a plate, a bowl of fries and a bowl of salad. That salad was the only greens on the table and they were not touched.

Oktoberfest food:

-          Rotisserie Chicken- at Oktoberfest around 500,000 chickens are consumed. This was definitely the best rotisserie chicken I have ever eaten. Now, I was drinking, drinking a lot, so forgive me if you disagree. However, the skin was so crispy and perfect and not overly season, I could eat a plate of the skins alone no problem. The chicken itself was very juicy and moist, it was clearly made with lots of love.

The beloved warm pork "bologna"

-          One of the best things I ate was also on the fair grounds. I cant remember what it’s called but it looks like a loaf of bread but it’s like a pork bologna almost, it’s served warm with the sweet grainy mustard in a bun. YUM. It was good, I took pictures of the people serving it, I think I did that because I also couldn’t figure out if he was a man or a woman. I had one of these sandwiches and went right back for another.

I must go back to Oktoberfest next year, I am very excited to go eat and drink there again!